5.1.6 .section name [, attr1[,...,attrn]]

Assemble the following code into a section named name. If the character * is specified for name, the assembler will generate a unique name for the section based on the input file name in the format filename.scnn, where n represents the number of auto-generated section names.

If the optional argument is not present, the section attributes depend on the section name. A table of reserved section names with implied attributes is given in Reserved Section Names with Implied Attributes [DD]. If the section name matches a reserved name, the implied attributes will be assigned to that section. If the section name is not recognized as a reserved name, the default attribute will be data (initialized storage in data memory).

Implied attributes for reserved section names other than [.text, .data, .bss] are deprecated. A warning will be issued if implied attributes for these reserved section are used.

If the first optional argument is quoted, it is taken as one or more flags that describe the section attributes. Quoted section flags are deprecated. A warning will be issued if quoted section flags are used.

If the first optional argument is not quoted, it is taken as the first element of an attribute list. Attributes may be specified in any order, and are case-insensitive. Two categories of section attributes exist: attributes that represent section types, and attributes that modify section types.